Ofo back on track with Alibaba bike-share deal

Insiders point out that this injection of Alibaba undoubtedly solves the pressing needs of Ofo.

One of China’s major bicycle sharing companies, Ofo, has received 1.77 billion yuan (USD 280 million) in financing from Alibaba, by pledging its assets of sharing bikes twice, The Paper reported.

In early February, the company pledged a total of 4,447,572 bikes in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou to Shanghai Yunxin Venture Capital Co. Ltd. for a 500-million-yuan injection. The latter is a related company of Ant Financial, the fintech arm of Alibaba.

Insiders point out that this injection of Alibaba undoubtedly solves the pressing needs of Ofo.

The company operates more than 10 million yellow-colored bicycles in 250 cities and 20 countries as of 2017.